Inferno
by CerberusLoadout
Summary: (Swan Song AU!) When Sam plunges into Satan's pit with Adam, dragging Lucifer and Michael with them, how does Dean cope? It takes much courage where he's willing to go, and willing to do. "Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate" [Inspired by "Inferno"]
1. Cantos I

_This is my first work for Supernatural, so forgive me if I get this too...iffy. This is also based off of Canon, the events that happen at the end of "Swan Song", so this is fun. If your confused, This takes place after Sam goes to hell, but instead of going to Lisa's, Dean just runs away. Also, Sam doesn't escape the cage soon after, he's still in there._  
_Also, I apologize in advance; No Destiel, Sabriel, ect. I love that more than anything, but this story has no place for romance. Tiny bits of fluffy interaction, but nothing besides that. Sorry!_

_Well, here it is! Enjoy!_  
_Sidenote: Updates will be frequent (I shall try), so this'll be over soon. Hopefully._

* * *

It had been a week. One week since that fateful day, in that fateful field, when Dean watched his brother plunge himself, and Adam, into Satan's pit. What else could he have done? He'd seen Cas blow up into nothing but meat, watched Bobby have his neck snapped, and his only family fall into a pit and lost forever. So he ran.

Well, not exactly ran, but more like drove away in angst in the Impala. It was hard for anyone to imagine Dean Winchester, Hunter extraordinaire, running away. Is this what Sam had done when Dean was dragged to hell? Perhaps. He didn't know, he wasn't there.

The humming of the impala's engine was the only noise. No loud sixty's rock blaring from the speakers, no arguing with his brother, nothing but the engine. He glared out the windshield, a blank expression plastered on his face.

His phone made a chirping noise, alerting that another voicemail had been left in his inbox. He's been ignoring it ever since Bobby called about six times a day to scold him and chew him out for leaving without saying anything. Soon that spiraled into pleading to come back, that he was there for him, that he was family too, all the mushy stuff that Dean scoffed at. He didn't need Bobby, or Lisa, or even Cas. He needed Sam _back_.

The long stretch of empty, dark, country road was normal to him. His headlights lit the old asphalt as he kept a constant speed, until he noticed something a bit further down. A person. Normally, he would've stopped to see what it was, but now he really didn't give two rat's asses. However, it was until he saw that it was, one; a woman, and two; she was hurt.

She was stumbling towards the road, her arms wrapped around her midsection as her shoes kicked up the dust from the empty field. Dean pulled the steering wheel over to the side and parked off in the ditch, the Impala's lights still bright against the dark.

He opened the door with a creek and stepped out, not in a rushed manor, but in a more calm, I-really-don't-wanna-be-here way.

"Hey, Lady, you Ok?" his voice was husky, like he hadn't spoken to anyone for a few days. Plus it was slightly slurred, evidence of heavy drinking. Like he was worried about drinking-and-diving at this point.

"P-Please…help me…!" She whimpered, tears streaming down her cheeks. She was obviously panicking. Dean wasn't really amused by this, but he was still human, for god's sake.

"Here," he held out his hand for her to grab. Her hands were cold and covered in blood. Had he been a bit more interested, he would've noticed it was _too much_ blood for her to still be breathing. "Why're you out here?"

"I…I was attacked. By a dog…" she sobbed, nails digging into his arm as she tried to keep steady.

"Ok…must've been a hell'ova dog." He looked at the wound that she had all across her stomach. Seriously, Dean was really not paying attention, nor did he realize what he'd just stumbled into.

"I couldn't see…it…."Her eyes were wide as she stared into his, but what alarmed him was the fact that one eye appeared…black.

"Did he attack your eye, too?" now he was a bit more caring. He leaned forward to examine her eye, when she jerked back, stepping away from him. "Hey! Stop, I'm _helping_ you!"

"W-Whats…your name?" he whispered, looking around frightfully, suddenly paranoid that the dog could still be around.

"Dean Winchester." He ground out "What's your name?"

Suddenly she stood straight upright, a wicked grin growing on her face "Good, somehow I knew you were the right guy." Her eyes now both flashed a wicked, glimmering black, then back to normal. Her wound now ignored, she walked slowly towards him. "Took me forever to track you down, you jackass."

Dean panicked, and pulled the knife from his jacket, holding it steadily in front of him, though his hands were shaking.

"Now now, don't be like that," she coo'd "We both know you ain't strong enough to take on lil' old me."

"W-Who sent you!?" he barked "Was it Crowley?!" that only made her laugh loudly, enough to bend backwards and hold her hand over her eyes.

"You really are dumber than shit." She gasped, regaining her balance "No, that jerk didn't send me. I came because you, good sir, have quite a bounty on your head."

"I always have. Stop joking around; tell me who sent you or so help me I'll put this knife through your brain!" Dean spat, while she took a few more steps closer.

"No, you misunderstand me. You see, the bounty price went up. Now it's the fight of the fittest to see who can bag the last great Winchester."

"I don't see why! Michael is gone, with Adam. So is Lucifer with Sam, I'm practically useless now!" his voice broke off at the end, eyes faltering to the ground before going back to the demon. "Get away from me."

"Not gonna happen, sweet thang. You see, that mean ol' pooch is still around. Might wanna take care of him…" she then brought her hand up and whistled loudly, echoing over the empty acres of field.

Dean whirled around to look behind him, but nothing was there. He turned wildly in each direction out of fear, looking for the dog she'd now alerted. The Demon cackled just as an invisible force knocked Dean to the ground.

"Oh good, you found my puppy!" She cheered, clapping her hands together as Dean rolled into the ditch to escape the Hellhound.

He belly crawled towards the impala when something grabbed onto his leg and pulled him back, searing pain shooting through his leg and making him scream. Twisting around, he jammed his knife into whatever was there. A shriek of pain and a sudden splash of black blood shooting out from the invisible hound. It let go, and this gave Dean a few moments to regain his stance and defend himself properly.

"Not fair!" the demon shouted from her spot "_Not fair_, but my puppy will win anyway!"

He backed up to the hood of Baby when he could hear it's breath on his neck. He slowly turned, but even then he didn't get far enough before it was on top of his, his jaws clamping down on his collarbone. He let out a howl of pain, his hands tearing against nothing to pull it off.

He could feel his own blood pouring out and down the side of his shoulders, and his vision was going blurry, but then came that light.

A bright light that could only have come from god himself sent the hellhound shrieking away. He turned his head, ignoring the pain, to watch the Demon. He'd missed it already; her vessel was lying in the dirt, eyes blank.

Standing beside the body was that trench coat. The long, battered trench coat that always seemed to be there when he have need for saving. Something must've been wrong because suddenly Castiel was holding Dean by the shoulders, staring right at his face. Dean should've been worried because Cas obviously was. That angel never looked as worried as he did now, she that must mean

"I'm a goner, Aren't I Cas?" He rasped. He'd lost feeling in his left arm.

"Shut up, Dean." Cas spoke, with no emotion. He brought one hand up and touched the hunter's forehead, a slight glow of light, and Dean was…normal.

Now he realized how awkward it was being cradled by his friend, their face's very close. "Dean, how do you feel now?"

"Well, I don't feel dead, so that's enough for me." He grunted as he pushed away and sat up, looking around. Yep, it was defiantly not a dream. He looked back at Cas, who was still staring at him weird. "Why'd you suddenly show up?"

"Bobby contacted me and told me how you'd still not returned. Even though you refused our help, I knew you _needed_ it."

"Thanks. Seriously, I could've died." Dean laughed, before Cas stood up quickly and actually shoved Dean over, landing on his butt in the dirt.

"Yes, you could have! What would you have done had I not been here!?" Castiel screamed. Dean had never seen him this angry. In like…ever. "Dean Winchester, you are wholly ungrateful that I'd ever saved you from hell, now do you wish to go back!?"

"W-What…!? Ungrateful? No!" he stood up, holding his fists to his side "Besides, don't go all high-and-godly on me, Asshole. Where were you when we needed you?"

"I've always been here. Always." Cas growled, now very much as pissed off as Dean .

"Yeah? Well, you…" Dean stopped and looked at the ground "I…I'm sorry. Ok? You apparently don't realize how fucked up everything is for me right now."

"I do know, Dean. It wasn't just your brothers who fell into that pit, mine did too." Castiel spoke softly now, even with a hint of sadness.

Dean blinked a few times, letting it all register "I know you and Michael never really…got along…but are you really upset about Lucifer—"

"Yes. He is my brother. They both are." He spoke firmly "Family is everything to me."

"No, I got that from our little God-Hunt." He barked out a laugh "I'm sorry. I didn't realize it was a big deal." He repeated.

"Good. I'm glad you realize that you were at fault. Now," Cas turned around and walked over to the Demon's vessel.

"Woah, hey, I never said I was wrong, nor do I admit that I was wrong 'cuz I wassn't!"

"Dean, I realize how hard it must be for you to come to terms with something, but right now I want you to make a decision."

"A decision…for what?"

"Do you want to save your brothers?" Cas stared at him right in the eyes. Blue blazing into Green. "You must reali—"

"Yes! Hell Yes!"

"Dean, let me finish." Cas sighed.

"Sorry."

"You must realize what this means?" Cas let his shoulders shrug back to their normal position. His sad eyes watched Dean look around, searching his mind for what exactly the angel meant.

"…That I'm going back to Hell? Yeah. I know." He said flippantly.

"Dean, this isn't like last time. We will have to journey through all of hell to reach Lucifer's cage. It's at the very bottom of the pit, trapped beneath Cocytus."

"I don't give a rat's ass about cock-tus, just take me there!"

"Cocytus, Dean. And I cannot just 'poof' you there. We need to find the gate this Demon used and go through there." Castiel turned back to pulled a bit of greenery off the vessel's clothing. While he examined it, Dean had gone to the Impala's hidden trunk and was pulling out different weapons.

"Ok, so this Demon used a door? Don't they normally…"

"Appear? Yes, but we are extremely close to a known gate into Hell." Castiel spoke without taking his eyes off the leaf.

"Wait…we're close to where I killed Azazel…" Dean looked around, then back to Cas.

"Yes. The gate that Jake had opened, the one that freed your father, is the place we go."

"This is just perfect, ain't it? Regardless that I friggin' _hate_ that place, it's right where everything got really screwed up."

"No, Dean, everything was "screwed up" before then, but that's when everything seemed to fall perfectly into place." And the Cas continued to drone on and on abut destiny and all that crap that Dean muted.

"Dean, are you listening?" Cas finally snapped the hunter from his little mind palace.

"Yep, I heard every word." He was leaning against the Impala, his gun slung over his shoulder. "Well, that was interesting, Cas, really it was. Now let's get to that Gate-o-Hell."

"I'm glad you are interested in my talking about you're death. Normally people are frightened by hearing about their own impending doom."

"Yeah…sure, Cas. Can we go now…?"

Cas sighed and looked at the vessel, then back to Dean. He could swear he saw something else in his blue eyes, but whatever it was had left by the time he was next to the car. "We may go. But I advise you, that whatever you see or encounter in Hell are things to drive you to insanity. The living…" he cut himself off and started again "The good souls are not meant to be there, and the damned will punish those lucky enough to escape. They are spiteful."

"Yeah, I understand that. I was pissed too." Dean clapped a hand on the angels shoulder, offering a smile. Suddenly he was in a good mood again now that he knew that he would be seeing Sam very soon. Or what he thought was soon.

"Cas, you've ridden in Baby before, Right? So you're used to it." Dean was going to grab the door, when Cas touch his shoulder and they were suddenly outside the mortuary. He was dizzy again.

"W-Wha…Damnit, Cas!" Dean spun around and glared at the Angel, who just stared at the giant stone doors. "Stop just zappin' me places! What did I tell you!?"

"I heard what you said, Dean. I just wanted us to get here quickly. I can sense your anxiety."

"Sure ya' can. Sure." He strode up to the doors and places a hand on the cold stone. "Geez, it feels like I was just here."

"Maybe you were. Years feel like days to…" Cas stopped, glanced over his shoulder at Dean, then back to the door.

"What? What feels like what to the what?"

"Never mind. We need to open the seal to enter." Castiel walked over and pulled a piece of chalk from the Bag Dean had happened to bring with him. He then began to trace a symbol over the door.

"This won't need the blood of a virgin or bones of a dead baby will it?"

"No, Dean. This is just a sigil that will be activated by the sun." He glances over at the tree line, which was beginning to glow with the sunrise. Dean set down his gun and helped clear the stones, dirt and weeds that surrounded the door's path.

"We'd better hurry, Sun's about to come over those trees."

Soon enough, a very intricate sigil was traced over the doors, different symbols of different languages written around the edges. Castiel stepped back; turning to see where the sun was, then back to the door. He walked over and sat down next to Dean, who was leaning against a headstone. Perhaps that could've been disrespectful, but He really didn't care at the moment.

It seemed like forever, sitting there in the quiet. Cas stared forward, watching the grass from time to time, but otherwise very still. Dea would watch him for a few moments before looking away quickly. Like Cas would care, but it still felt weird. Had Sam been here, he'd be teasing Dean about now.

Suddenly a bolt of sunlight struck the doors, and then the sigil began to glow. Both men stood up, Dean more interested and in awe by the 'magic'. A shock of fire that trailed down the seam of both doors, and they began to open, not too slowly.

Once the doors were open, the giant fiery pit was replaced by dark, old stairs. Dean looked around the inside of the doorway, utterly confused by the sudden…steps. "Wassn't there…a giant fire pit here last time?" He glanced at the Angel, who had stood beside him.

"It looks different now…" he nodded, then turning to face Dean "Everything is different. I need you to stand here, I'll go first. Once I'm through, you can follow. If I disappear, you need to close the doors, understand?"

"Woah, Cas, I am _not_ closing those while you're still inside. Just go, I'll follow, Ok?"

"Stand here." He pointed at the patch of ground Dean was situated on, and then moved too slowly into the doorway, then a few experimental steps on the old stones. He turned and glanced at the hunter, who stood looking rather bored, who just shrugged after a moment of staring at each other.

"Alright, you can come in. Walk slowly." Cas warned.

Dean turned to pick up his gun, but Cas' voice cut through "You don't need those. Just come inside."

"Cas, Just—"

"Dean. Leave them."

Dean groaned, then turned around and walked to the doorway, then arched a bowed leg inside. Once his entire body was in, he suddenly felt weird. Lighter, yet heavy at the same time. He suddenly got dizzy, but felt someone grab his arm to keep him steady. "Careful. This is why I said to take it slowly."

"S-sorry…" He leaned against the Angel for a moment, then had the courage to stand up. What he saw was enough to make him dizzy again.

All around them, below and above, was reddish orange. The doorway was gone, everything felt really warm. But the ground looked like dirt. It was barren, not covered in fire and lava. An eerie wind blew over them, causing him to squint to see through the dust. He could make out mountains in the distance, storm clouds surrounding them, and it looked much colder than where they were. Not too far, much closer to them, was a large stronghold. What looked like a castle, was at the edge of a giant chasm. A long, old stone bridge reached out from one side, linking to the other. He could hear faint screaming. The screaming was the only thing that indicated that this was truly hell.

"Yep. This is hell." He croaked.

"This is only the outskirts of the first ring, Dean. We're very far from even half-way." Castiel tightened his hold on the hunter, keeping him upright. "If you wish, we can rest before we continue to the hall of judgment."

"_Pah!_" Dean scoffed loudly, gently pushing his way out of the hold, and stood up straight, wobbling slightly. "I can handle this. I suspect you have like…a mental map of this place…?"

"I do, but I've never experienced this place first-hand. I apologize in advance if something happens."

"Cas, please don't say that. Whenever someone in movies or books or tv shows say "_I have a bad feeling about this_" something bad always happens and someone normally dies." He whined. Cas looked over at him, worried.

"Dean, I suspect you spend too much time on those subjects. This is not fiction, we'll be…fine." That last word was spoken with definite unsure-ness. Both stared off at what awaited them. A dark cloud began to loom over them. Cas knew what Dean did not, and he couldn't be compassionate over this now, though he loved Dean, he couldn't tell this to him. How could he? Regardless, he would have to keep this to himself until they had saved Sam.


	2. Cantos II

O

Dean's shoes scuffed along the hard ground, following alongside Castiel, who led him towards the large stone gate that opened to the Bridge of Minos. His gaze drifted up to a very, very old rock sign with very old lettering carved into its surface

"_ABANDON ALL HOPE, YOU WHO ENTER HERE"_

"Wow. Such a great, warm fuzzy feeling that gives me…" Cas looks up to where Dean was staring, a smirk on his features. "It's a warning."

"Obviously." He scoffed "Who's it trying to warn? All that's here are souls and dead people."

"Take this seriously, Dean. Not all who come here are dead…" Castiel kept his gaze from Dean's, purposely looking at the gate.

"Oh, like me? Yeah…I can understand that." He grinned his little grin and elbowed Cas' side "I bet they don't know how Badass I am. I can handle myself!"

"Be serious, Please." Cas gave him a sidelong glare, then kept walking forward. "I am serious! If I weren't, I wouldn't be here, dude."

"I understand, Dean. But…I'm worried—"

"Who even work's here?" Castiel sighed; obviously this conversation would never progress with any more seriousness than it'd begun with.

"King Minos. He was the king of Crete, in Greece. When he died, he came down here and was given the job of Judge of the Damned." When he looked over his shoulder, Dean was staring at him.

"Really? They just…gave him a job down here? That's…pretty legit."

"It wasn't 'Legit' as it seems. Time here turned him into a monster. The souls of Limbo fear him. He will determine where they spend eternity, and he is a cruel beast."

"A monster, eh? Well, that's not too bad. I mean…This _is _hell, what's to be surprised about." He shrugged it off and approached the stone gate. It was old. Extremely old. Made of brimstone and sand, time having eroded parts of its bindings and made it appear even older that it possibly was. Maybe younger, actually. He lifted his boot and kicked both sides of the doorway, looking around its reaches as a few specs of sand fell, but nothing actually moved. He turned and gave a cocky grin to the Angel, who just sighed

"It's safe. We can go."

"Kicking it won't make it safe, Dean, that'll just make it worse." He walked through and touched the stone softly "But it's unlikely that this would ever fall or break. It's been here longer than Minos himself."

The hunter grunted and kept walking into the dark of the gate, his face lit only by an eerie glow that seemed to be following them. Castiel walked slower than Dean, looking at what seemed every crack and nick in the stone, though his mind wandered freely, lost in his thoughts. It took a bright blast of light to bring him back.

The light just so happened to be the end of the gate, which opened to the large stone bridge. Dean's mouth gaped at just how huge it really was, and just how long it must've taken to build it.

"It wasn't built, it just…was." Castiel answered his thoughts. He looked at the angel, mouth still agape, but said nothing. "No one really knows where everything came from; we just know that it was here before we all showed up."

"So, your brother…Lucifer, he had nothing to do with this…?"

"No, Lucifer…" Cas sighed and faced him "Lucifer fell very, very long ago, but to us it seems not too far ago. He is young, to you all he's centuries old, maybe older. He is young here, though. He knows about as much as we do."

"So he's not the "King of Hell" as everyone makes him out to be?"

Cas chuckled at that, something he rarely did "No, he is not the king. Many respect him, though. He has gained many followers since his fall, but he is far from king of this place."

Dean looked straight ahead; face sullen, when he growled in frustration. Cas looked over to see his hand's twitching, probably due to the fact that he didn't have anything that could do damage to anything. In other words, Dean was weaponless.

"Wait a sec…" he paused, looking up into the redden sky, then back to the angel "Isn't that Crowley bastard the King of Hell?"

"Self-Proclaimed. He was once just that simple cross-road's demon. Things happened. The others fear and respect him, as they once did to Lucifer. However, when your brother—"

"Knocked Luci and Michael into the pit, he became the number one, yeah?" Dean finished.

The angel nodded slowly "Yes…but there are others down here that are just as powerful, if not more. As well as feared and respected. Crowley may be a powerful demon, but power isn't everything down here."

"Like…Minos? If we were too…say, win over that monster dude, could we perhaps talk him into helping us?" Dean walked into Castiel's path, stopping him in his tracks. The angel looked baffled "W-What?"

"No, think about it! You yourself said that Minos was older than Lucifer! He's powerful and feared and powerful,"

"You already said that." Castiel added flatly. Dean paused, then smiled and winked at him

"Right. Anyway, he could help us take down—"

"Impossible. Lucifer is too powerful. Minos may have age and size on his side, but Lucifer has the power of an archangel." He held up his hand to stop Dean before he could interrupt "Lucifer may have fallen, but he is still just as powerful. Minos would be killed by him, not as quickly as us, but still just as easily."

"Wait a second…size? How big is Minos…?" Dean slowly turned to face the angel, who opened his mouth to answer, but was suddenly cut off by the sound of cracking stone. Both men paused and looked down at the bridge, which shook.

"Dean, move! Run!" Cas grabbed the hunters arm and slung him forward as he fell behind. Dean ran, shoes scraping against the old rock, then threw himself against the dirt path of the other side. Wheezing, he looked to see the bridge falling and having lost sight of his angel "Cas!" he yelled, eyes wide. Scrambling to his feet, he ran to the broken edge and looked down at the ruins as they fell into a dark pit

"Castiel!"

He stared hopelessly into the chasm, then sank to his knees.

"_. . .I apologize in advance if something happens."_

As if perfectly on queue the thunder overhead split the silence and lightning lit the sky. Green eyes darkened as he rose to his feet, throwing fragments of the bridge into the emptiness "Damnit, Castiel! What am I gonna do without you!? Where do I go now?!" he voice lowered to a whisper "I can't lose you too."

"Well Well Well…look what the cat drug in." Dean twisted around and glared at the noticeable human voice, which was actually very British. Crowley, adorning his normal black suit stood behind him, the shit eating grin on his face, red eyes glowing with satisfaction "Did a little angel fall? How…_wonderfully_ ironic."

"Fuck off, Crowley!" the hunter spat, gripping a rock in his hand "You're just gonna go tell whoever it is in charge here that _you_ killed him."

"Actually, I wasn't thinking of that…but that does sound like a wonderful plan. Thank you, by the way." He bowed curtly, then started walking towards Dean. He held his rock up, stepping back barely. The demon held up his hands, eyebrows rose "Hey, hey, now. That's not very ladylike. Besides, I'm trying to be a nice host and take you to meet my friend."

"_Friend_?" Dean spat "Who would that be down here that I would like?"

"Oh, just a friend. He met you once." His voice lowered to a devilish growl. He walked a few steps closer, then pulled a strange-looking knife from his pocket and held it against Dean's side "Now we can do this my way, or the fun way."

"Fuck you." He growled, but slowly lowered his arm until he dropped the rock. "What's the fun way, anyway?"

"Killing you and dragging your soul to Cerberus and watch you get eaten then shit out." He giggled evilly (if it's even possible) to which Dean huffed "Then what's your way?"

"Take you to meet my friend without any issues. The fun way is fun, but I'd rather not get yelled at by my dear old friend."

"Who even is your friend?!" He growled, being pushed forward to walk by the tip of the knife. If Sam saw him now, being held captive by a demon that small, he'd laugh his ass off but then save the day.

"You'll see…"

Crowley led Dean over the flat, dry plains. After a long few minutes of silence, the reddened fog slowly parted and a large tower appeared in the distance, opened by another, larger bridge. The other side of the tower, there were mountains where the dark clouds gathered and the lighting was at its most powerful.

As much as he tried to fight against it, his mind replayed that moment where he lost sight of Castiel, watching the bridge fall and losing his friend again forever. This seemed just like when Sam fell into the pit, but both were just as hurtful to remember. He tried pushing it away, and it worked when suddenly Crowley broke the silence by speaking.

"Bet it hurt," he sighed, making Dean look behind him and glare "when that bridge fell and your happy little angel boyfriend fell for good. But, he's fallen before. Shouldn't hurt as much."

"Shut your whore mouth, Crowley." He growled.

"Oh, I do what I want, Mister Winchester. Down here, I say what goes and you shut up and follow what I say."

The hunter growled, but kept walking forward past the broken stone from what looked like a wall. An old wall. His eyes darted along as he got closer to the tower. From inside, he could hear the wailing screams of souls that had yet to be judged. They got closer and closer to the tower as it was even bigger than he'd originally seen. His eyes darted around, and then with a swift movement, he spun around and hit the knife from the Demon's hands. Crowley hissed, eyes blazing red, as he lashed forward to attack the hunter. Dean leapt out of the way in time, boots scrapping against gravel and stone.

Pulling his fist up, he made contact with the Demon's jaw, sending him back a few steps. Once he gained his second wind, Crowley spun and let out a snarl that was very much demonic, and then charged at Dean again, jumping at him, hands reaching out in front of him. Stiffening his back, he waited until the last possible moment, jumping out of the way again and landing on his stomach, letting Crowley dive head-first at a rock, stunning him, then as he lost his grip on the ground he tumbled backwards and fell into the chasm by the bridge.

"That's…for Castiel…you bitch." He huffed breathlessly. Pushing himself off the ground, he heard an ominous rumbling sound. Looking at the ground beneath him, the smallest grain of dirt had started to shake. Raising his head, his eyes met a long, snake-like tentacle. It burst through the ground as a high speed, and then wrapped itself around his leg with crushing force.

Letting out a pained scream, he spun around and grabbed at Crowley's knife that was just inches away. But the snake-thing pulled at his leg and pulled him forward towards the bridge. Scrambling back, his hands gripped against the earth and stone, fingers being run raw as they pulled against the ground in false hope of making it stop. As he was pulled over the bridge and through the gateway, his eyes met thousands of others; watching him with empty hope. They were the souls who had been damned but yet judged. They were frail and meek, like skeletons draped with dull gray satin.

Many yelled in strange tongues at him as he flew through the base of the tower. They all stopped and watched as this living soul was drug to its inevitable fate. He hissed and pulled himself up as the ground was running the shoulders of his jacket and shirt down to the skin, causing a burning feeling to shoot through his body. Reaching forward weakly, he grabbed ahold of his legs and watched as he was pulled through the last doors, over a very skinny bridge and into a large theater made of stone.

The thing let go and pulled back through a hole in the stone, disappearing as quickly as it'd appeared. He slowly sat up, shaking hands pushed against the ground to help him stand. Wide green eyes stared around him; emptiness. Something that was rare here. He started to back away, when large iron gates shut off the bridge. His head whipped around to the statue of a huge human on a snakes body. It wasn't a statue.

Moving slightly, its arms moved forward and pulled its upper body to life, loud crackling of its joints echoed through the air, sending shivers down Dean's spine.

"Who comes to my house of pain?" it's voice boomed and echoed.

Its face was almost like a skull, with tight dull skin pulled across. It had no eyes, the skin stretched over the sockets eerily. Its mouth opened and a forked tongue tasted the air, slowly grinning.

"A soul that t'was already sent into damnation!" it roared, hands landing right in front of Dean, then it's head looked right at him, it's face so close he could feel the warmth of each rasping breath.

"Why have you come here, Dean Winchester?"

"H-How do you know me…?" his voice was surprisingly strong and loud. The creature reared back slightly, then moved its face even closer

"I was the one who sent your father where he was. He spoke of you. I could taste the fear for you and your brother on him." It boomed, voice thundering.

"My father escaped from here!" he growled "He's where he was meant to go!"

"Your father was always meant to be here, foolish boy." He rumbled "I know all souls who come here! I know his fate! You scorched my rule, human!" it's tail flung from behind Dean, knocking him over and onto his butt. It hissed "I smell different upon you, Son of John…" it lowered it's head and sniffed the hunter. Dean stiffened.

"I smell…a Traitor…Glutton…Murderer…"

"Sniff again, Beast!" Dean roared, standing back up and glaring at the blind beast "What are you? How do you know my fate!? It's yet to be written!"

"I am King Minos; Judge of the Dead! How dare you speak against me in my own house!" it roared, tail coming forward again and wrapping itself around Dean in a moment. Struggling against the grip, it was useless. Minos brought him to a large iron wheel made of spikes and painted with blood. As Dean's chest neared the largest spike, the tail suddenly shook and dropped him away from the wheel.

Dropping to his knees, he groaned. Pulling his head up, he saw…something. Huge, grayish white with brilliant black wings, it's arms pulling at Minos' tongue and wrapping it around the iron judgment wheel. Minos' tail and body thrashed violently, but this new creature of blazing bright light leered and pulled the leaver, causing Minos' head to be impaled by the iron spikes, grinding through his skull until it split down the middle.

Body gone slack, Minos fell through the hole of the large stone theater and disappeared. The bright creature lowered itself and stood, watching the gap, then turned its face to Dean. Its eyes blazed a bright white, almost blue. It had no mouth nor nose nor ears, only sad eyes. It was a proud looking beast, whose body was decorated in glowing stripes, tethered with black ribbons linked to small crosses.

It lowered itself and looked right at Dean, those eyes that looked so much like…

"Castiel…?" His voice came out in a little more than a whisper.

The creature nodded, then its voice rang clear "Yes, Dean."

Eyes wide, Dean stepped forward and looked at Castiel up and down, blinking a few times, then whistling "Well, where did you keep that vessel hidden?"

"This is not a vessel, Dean. This is my true form. This is how I look _without_ the help of a vessel." His wings readjusted themselves proudly. His hand went forward, not big enough to cover the hunter's chest, but Dean stepped back, which only made the Angel flinch and pause "Are you hurt, Dean?"

"Y-Yeah…I got pretty banged up on the way here, dude! Where…did you go…?" It came out a bit whinier than he wanted it to, but that's how he honestly felt. The angel reached forward again, pressing his palm against Dean's chest stiffly.

"I am sorry, but I had apologized before. I warned you that things like this would happen."

"I'm sorry, but I asked you _where_ you went." Dean hissed, crossing his arms like a child "I didn't ask for a speech on life and death matters here."

That seemed to reel the angel back a bit, he lowered his arm and stood tall once more "I fell with the bridge. I abandoned my vessel before I was killed. My true for was strong enough to withstand the forces in the chasm. "

"Oh. Well...eh…" Dean looked away, hiding the fear in his eyes "While you were screwing around with your vessel stuff, I managed to kill off Crowley."

"Crowley? He was here…?" Castiel's face looked back at the hunter, eyes brightening again "Why?"

"I guess he was working with Minos. Never knew. He's gone now so…"

Castiel nodded and looked off past the hole in the wall, noticing the next gate "That is where we go next." Dean nodded silently and looked on, the wails of the souls echoing behind them.

1


End file.
